€10m announced for new road in Portlaoise to 'open up' land for hundreds more homes
Cash granted for new road in Portlaoise under €1bn housing infrastructure fund
€10m has been approved to build two Portlaoise road projects to improve access to housing estates and schools, and land to build hundreds of more houses.
The new road will link the Borris Road and the Dublin road, running from a new roundabout at the Dargan Road housing estate, to a new roundabout at the Rath Rua estate, with both estates still under construction.
It will also offer an alternative route to the two secondary schools on the Borris Road, St Mary’s CBS and Scoil Chríost Rí, easing pressure on the Borris Road.
The other funding approval is to pay for an upgrade of the Colliers Lane / Dublin Road junction. This new roundabout is already nearing completion. There is also a planning agreement with Downeys that they would pay towards it as their new filling station will be accessed off the roundabout.
Laois County Council have both items in their development plans for Portlaoise and had applied for the funding.
It has come from the Government’s €1 billion Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund.
Fine Gael TD for Laois Willie Aird has this Tuesday, June 16 confirmed the approval of what he describes as “two key infrastructure projects” for Portlaoise.
Dep Aird said that “sustained engagement and consistent pressure over a long period had helped bring the projects to fruition”.
The Tánaiste’s office has informed the Laois TD that the projects are part of the first allocation from the fund, which will see €862 million invested nationally across 82 schemes, with the potential to unlock up to 200,000 homes.
The Portlaoise projects include the Borris Road/Dublin Road Urban Distributor Road and the Dublin Road/Colliers Lane junction enhancement works.
The distributor road will connect the Dublin Road and Borris Road corridors and is expected to directly unlock land for approximately 1,909 homes, with a further similar level of capacity enabled indirectly.
The junction works will upgrade access at the R445 Dublin Road/Colliers Lane area, improving capacity and facilitating the wider development of zoned lands in the vicinity.
Deputy Aird said he had consistently engaged with officials from the Departments of Finance, Public Expenditure and Transport over a sustained period, including through parliamentary questions in Dáil Éireann.
He said that ongoing pressure and follow-up had been central to progressing the projects.
“I have been raising these infrastructure requirements for Portlaoise repeatedly with Department officials because they are essential to unlocking housing delivery,” he said.
“This is a very positive announcement for Portlaoise. It shows what can be achieved when projects are kept firmly on the agenda and pushed through the system.”
He said the investment represented a “practical and important step forward” in addressing infrastructure constraints that have held back housing development in the area.
Fine Gael Cllr Paddy Buggy from the Portlaoise Municipal District has also welcomed the announcement by Minister Cummins.
”This significant investment in Portlaoise under the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund will see funding allocated for the Borris Road to Dublin Road link road and the Colliers Lane and Dublin Road junction enhancement. This investment provides for vital infrastructure in Portlaoise,” Cllr Buggy said.
The Government said the projects are part of a wider strategy of front-loading infrastructure in areas identified for significant housing growth.